Garment hanger



1952 c. WARREN ET AL 2,605,942

GARMENT HANGER Filed Jan. 31, 1947 INVENTOR COMER WARREN VICJ'QR wSILVERMAN ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 5, 1952 Comer-Warren and VictonW;isilverrnan,

. Detroit, Mich.

'Applicationflanuary 31, 1947, Serial No. 725,608

This invention relates to garment-hangers and, in particular, it relatesto a folding type of-garment. hanger. More particularly,- the inventionrelates. to' a garment hanger'which is foldable, at aplurality ofjoints, into a compact unit.

It is understood that, heretofore, certain coat or-garm'ent hangers havebeen devised so as to constitute a collapsible hanger. The presentinvention, however, comprises a collapsible or foldable hanger which maybe extended to constitute a full size hanger'in combination with astability and rigidity usually associated only with, conventionalnon-foldable types of. hangers. In general, our invention comprises afoldable garment hanger which. includes, in. addition-to the shouldersupporting members oithehanger, a horizontal member adapted for;maintaining. the shoulder portions-in a; fixed relative position.Furthermore, the horizontal member is adaptable to be locked inposition, thereby rendering" the assembly non-collapsible Still further,the hanger of. our invention is constructed so: that it.may bereadilyiormedtof sheet-metal-or plastic compositions.

It is, therefore; among the objects of-our in:-

vention to provide a garment hanger which is:

collapsible and which maybe folded into a. relatively small compact.unit; to-provide a hanger of the collapsible type which may be locked inextended position; to provide. a hanger of the,

collapsibletype which includes a. horizontal member extending acrossthebase of the-hanger,thusproviding additional support for accessorygarments; to provide a hanger of the collapsible'type which may. bereadily formed of sheet metalor plastic composition; to provide a hangerof the collapsible type which .is substantially rigid and serviceablewhen in. extended position; and,-to-

provide a. hanger of. the. collapsible type-which may be manufacturedefficiently and economically. V

These. and other objects and, advantages will appear more fully in thefollowi'ngdetaileddescription when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1" is a-frontelevational view of a hanger of our inventionillustrated in extended position; 'Figure 2 is a frontview' of thehanger, partly in section, and partly-in collapsed position;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the hanger in fully folded position;Figure 4 is a transverse view'of the hanger, in section, taken alonglines IV-IV of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a front view in section, of aportion of a hanger, positioned as in Figure 2, and illustratin'gamodified form of our invention.

4- Claims. (Cl. 223+82)? With referencetothedrawing and, in particular;to; Figure 1, we show an embodiment of our invention in the form of acoat or garment hanger. In general, the invention comprises a pair 'ofshoulder members land 2, the cross-section of which is U-shape" information. 'One end of theshoulder member 2' fits within thecorresponding end of the shoulder member I. aperture 3 is formed throughboth associated ends of the shoulder members I and 2, and the body of a.wire hook 4 passes through the opening 3 and is riveted at the oppositeside of the shoulder members so as to pivotally connect these mem-* hersI and 2 together; Y

The opposite ends of the shoulder members I and 2' are each providedwithapertures 5 and 6, respectively, which serve to support rivet pins 1 and8, respectively. Pivotally associated with the pin 7 is a horizontalmember 9 which is U-shaped in'cross-sectionalformation. The length ofthe" horizontal member 9 isapproximately one-half the distance of theshoulder to shoulder distance as determined by the extended portions oftheshoulder member I and 2. A somewhat similar member ID is associatedwith the pivot pin -8 connected to the outer portion of the shouldermember-2. An enlarged portion H of the horizontal member ID fits withina corresponding enlarged portion l2 or the horizontal member 9.

The members 9 and I0 are joined together means of a 'pin l3 fastened toand extending across the enlarged portion (2 of the member 9.

A slot i4 is formed through the walls of the enlarged portion H of themember ID and is adaptable for slidingengagement with the pin I3. Thepurpose of the slot I4 is to permit-folding of the horizontal members 9and l 0 notwithstanding the pivoted association of these members withthe shoulder members I and 2.

Another function of the slot 14 is to permit axial movement of thehorizontal member l0 relative to the horizontal member 9. The member 9adjacent to its enlarged portion 12 is provided with a slot' l'5which,'when'the members 9 and ID are pulled axially outward, enables themembers 9 and ID to bepivoted'about' the pin. This is shown, inparticular, in Figure 2. However; when it-is' desirable to lock thehangerin its distended position, the horizontalmembers Band 0 are moved:axially toward each other'withthe result that the upper surface IQ ofthe member I0 engages with the undersideof thev upper sur-' face ll ofthe member 9, thus preventing any I pivotal movement between the members9, and III.

This condition, in effect, locks the horizontal,

member 9- and I0 together and forms a substan- 3 tially rigid unit ofall of the members I, 2, 9 and III.

In order to provide additional length to the hanger, we provideextension members I8 and I9 supported by the pivot pins 1 and 8,respectively. These extension members are likewise U-shape in formation.These extension members I8 and I9 include inwardly projecting portions20 and 2 I which may rest against'the under surfa'ce ofthel horizontalmembers 9 "and III, respectively.

When in such an extended position, the extension members I8 and I9 arecapable of supporting a proper load applied to the upper side of suchmembers. Slots or depressions 22 and 23 may be formed in the extensionmembers! and I9, re-

spectively, as an additional retaining means for supporting garments.

Preferably, the hanger is formed of sheet metal a rd size sturdy hanger,while at the same time -of'a potential user.

such as steel or aluminum. The construction 'is of such a nature that itmay also be formed of various conventional plastic compositions. Figure1 illustrates the hanger in its fully extended and locked position. Whenit is-desired to foldthe hanger, it is merely necessary to pull themembers 9 and I0 outwardly in an axial direction-so, that the pin I3slides to the opposite end ofthe slot I4:

of the shoulder membersI and 2 may be drawn together. This condition ofpartial folding'is illustrated in Figure 2'. It --will be noted that theU-shaped section of the horizontal member 9 is of smaller dimensionsthan the shoulder member I, thus permitting the member 9 to be pivotallymoved completely within the member I.

A similar association takes 'place with the members I0 and 2. Uponcomplete folding of the members I and has shown in Figure 3; the memberslie in parallel: relationship. The extension members I8 and I9areforrneol of a U-.

shaped section slightly largerthan the sections of the-members I and};to permit the extension members to be folded independently back-overtheshoulder members -I and 2. folding operation, the hook d is .alsopivoted downwardly so that the hook. lies flat against the members I and2.

to form a compact and neat Figure 3. 7

Figure5, illustrates a modified form of our invention in which a pair ofshouldermembers 24 and 25 formed of inverted U-shaped members are joinedtogether with a pivot pin 26. A hook 21 is fastened to the pin 26 at apoint midway unit, as shown in between the ends of the pin. Thearm 24 isprovided with a slot 28, and the arm 25 is-similarly provided with aslot 29. Otherwise, the arms 24 and 25 are similar in all respects tothe arms I and 2, as shown in Figure 2. The purpose of the slots 28 and29 is to permit the hook-2'! to be pivoted about the pin 25 and foldedinwardly so that the hook will lie in a position, as shown inFigure 3,except that the hook will lie within the side flanges of the U-- shapedmembers instead of on the outside there of, asshown in Figure 3. Thepurpose of positioning the hook in this manner is to permit a centralsuspension point upon which the. hanger is moreuniformly balanced. Also,by folding the hookin thismanner it is almostcompletely en-- cased whenthe hanger is in folded position, thus constituting an even more compactunit.

Horizontal members 39 and 3|, which correspond with the members 9 andII] of Figure 2,

When this occurs, the members 9 andv I0 may be pivoted-about the pin I3,while at the same time the outer portions To complete the The entirefolding op-- eration may be. accomplished quickly and easily I beingcapable of pivotally changing its outer dimensions into a compact unitreadily adaptable for transportation in a suit case, or in the pocket.-While .we. have shown and described a preferred embodiment of ourinvention it is to be understood that it is subject to thosemodifications which appear obviously within the spirit of ourinventionand as appearing in the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim-and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. A foldable garment -hanger comprising a pair of arms pivotally joinedtogether at each of one of their ends, supporting members pivotallyjoined to each of the armsat their op-I posite ends, and a pin extendingthrough the opposite end of. one of the supporting members, the othersupporting member having a slot engageable with said pin, an overhangingportion on one'supporting member for engagement with the othersupporting member, said portion having a slot through'which the end ofthe other supporting. member may extend, the relationship of the pin andsaid first'named slot being suchthat when the supporting members are Iaxially moved toward each other the adjacent ..ends" of the supportingmembers overlap each other to the extent that pivotal movement of thesupporting members about the pin'is prevented by the overhangingportion, 'wherebythe supporting members are pivotally joined togetherwhile permitting limited axial'movement relative to each othe r' of thesupporting members when in horizontal alignment; 7

2. A foldablegarment hanger comprising a pair of 'inverted'U-shaped armsthe end of one of which fits within the end of the other, means forpivoting thefitted ends together, a pair of inverted U- shapedmembersoflesser cro'ss-sectional dimensions than the dimensions of saidarms having their adjacent ends pivotally connected together and withtheir opposite ends pivotally joinedwith the free ends of said arms, andmeans for locking the said membersv in horizontal alignment, said meanscomprising a pin carried by and extending across the legs of one of theU-shaped members, and the other of said U-shaped members having. aslotin its legs for receiving. said pin, an overhanging portion ononesupporting memberfor engagement with the limited axial movementrelative to each other of the supporting members when in horizontalalignment.

3. A foldable garment hanger comprising a pair of inverted U-shaped armsthe end of one of which fits within the end of the other, means forpivoting the fitted ends together, a hook forming in part the means forpivoting the fitted ends together, a pair of inverted U-shaped membersof lesser cross-sectional dimensions than the dimensions of said armshaving their ends pivotally connected together and with their oppositeends pivotally joined with the free ends of said arms, and means forlocking the said members in horizontal alignment, said means comprisinga pin carried by and extending across the legs of the U-shaped members,and the other of said U-shaped members having a slot in its legs forreceiving said pin, an overhanging portion on one supporting member forengagement with the other supporting member, said portion having a slotthrough which the end of the other supporting member may extend, therelationship of the pin and said first named slot being such that whenthe U-shaped members are axially moved toward each other the adjacentends of the U-shaped members overlap each other to the extent thatpivotal movement of the U-shaped members about the pin is prevented bythe overhanging portion of one of the U-shaped members whereby thesupporting members are pivotally joined together while permittinglimited axial movement relative to each other of the supporting memberswhen in horizontal alignment.

4. A foldable garment hanger comprising a pair of inverted U-shaped armsthe end of one of which fits within the end of the other, means forpivoting the fitted ends together, a hook forming in part the means forpivoting the fitted ends together, said hook being pivoted to permit 6it to be folded back against the U-shaped arms, a pair of invertedU-shaped members of lesser cross-sectional dimensions than thedimensions of said arms having their ends pivotally connected togetherand with their opposite ends pivotally joined with the free ends of saidarms, and means for locking the said members in horizontal alignment,said means comprising a pin carried by and extending across the legs ofone of the U-shaped members, and the other of said U-shaped membershaving a slot in its legs for receiving said pin, an overhanging portionon one supporting member for engagement with the other supportingmember, said portion having a slot through which the end of the othersup porting member may extend, the relationship of the pin and saidfirst named slot being such that when the U-shaped members are axiallymoved toward each other the adjacent ends of the U-shaped membersoverlap each other to the extent that pivotal movement of the U-shapedmembers about the pin is prevented by the overhanging portion of one ofthe U-shaped members whereby the supporting members are pivotally joinedtogether while permitting limited axial movement relative to each otherof the supporting members when in horizontal alignment.

COME-R WARREN. VICTOR W. SILVERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Goldberg Dec. 2, 1930

